England look to future with Mark Wood new-ball role but struggle in warmup

The Guardian – Mark Wood emerged from a chastening experience in Hamilton reassured that he is being primed for a lead role in England’s future.

Summary

Mark Wood emerged from a chastening experience in Hamilton reassured that he is being primed for a lead role in England’s future.

Wood conceded more than four an over at Seddon Park, where centuries from the New Zealand Test discard Tom Blundell and the unheralded tailender Kyle Jamieson gave England the runaround on day one of their pink-ball warmup match.

Yet England’s fastest bowler knew before the start of play that his standing is high with the captain, Joe Root, who informed him the previous evening that he would take the new ball alongside Jimmy Anderson.

Root therefore identified a relatively low-key occasion to deploy Wood with the new ball – so that when the time comes, England will not be shoehorning the 28-year-old into a key role to which he is unaccustomed.

“I know there’s a few bowlers who’ve got a couple of niggles for this game, so this was a chance for me to put my name in the hat,” said Wood, who struggled particularly when he switched ends.